REALITY

What a crazy past couple of weeks! I was in Miami two days hanging out with some good friends, the Bahamas for three days, Tulsa for three days, and now I am trying to catch up with email, twitter, blogs, etc. Alyson and I had such a great time away. The cruise wasn't the best cruise in the world, but hanging out with Alyson and having absolutely nothing to do but play scrabble and a few other games WAS the best.

However, like any vacation, it had to come to an end. So now we are having to "get down to the nitty gritty" (as Nacho Libre would say) and get back to reality. Reality is one of those words to me that stir up a lot of different emotions. For the most part, I don't like it. I live in a dream world, so reality is a natural accountability partner that is always letting me know what I can do now. In other words, it keeps me grounded so that I can concentrate on the present.

Yesterday as I talked to a person in my community, he kept saying, "I've been a Christian for years, yet something seems to be missing in my life." As I've had time to reflect on the conversation, I wonder why? For so many of us, why do we feel like something is missing? And this morning, as I've thought and prayed over this very thought, I've come to the realization that it's because many of us look so far in the future we don't see God standing right beside of us right now. We miss God because we aren't looking for God right here and now.

As I was on the cruise with Alyson, I was able to dream a lot about our future. You know, where we may be in five and ten years; if or how many kids we will have; even who will be our best friends at the time. But to be blunt, who cares. I'm so excited that God is in control of all that. I've learned that I can sit here and make all kind of plans for the future and some or none of it may come true. For me, God has had a funny way of allowing me to do stupid things to ruin my future plans yet get me in line so I can join His master plan.

But His master plan always is in the present and the future. It is both one and the other. Sure, God's team wins, but we as individuals can lose if we don't make sure we are currently playing in the same game on the same team. And this has to do with present reality.

We can still dream about the future and make plans of what we wish to happen. The reality is we have to plan! BUT the reality of life is that it's not always what we want it to be, but it is always where we find ourselves. Right now, I find myself in a coffee shop in East Nashville. That means it's here and now my influence begins. It's here, the land beneath my feet, where God has me to do His work. For me to do anything else but bring God glory and honor in what I'm doing here is to miss out on the reality that God is present, alive, and with me. The cool thing about God is he's in your reality too.

Where are you now and what can you be doing in the present to glorify and honor God in what you're doing?